Friday, April 2, 2010

In Remembrance

Tonight we had the Passover meal at our church. It is called Seder, meaning "order", because there are many steps to the meal and they are all ordered. It is a reminder of the Jews being redeemed from bondage in Egypt, with symbolic meaning. It's not only Jews who are having passover now, because many Christians are having a renewed interest in it. There are four cups of wine for each person, representing blessing, the ten plagues, redemption, and praise, which we talked about or acted out as we drank each cup. Among other things on the plate are: bitter herbs, symbolizing the harshness of slavery, a green vegetable such as celery, which is dipped into salt water to represent the tears, and a hard boiled egg, a symbol of mourning. There is, of course, unleavened flatbread, matzo. For most people in our church, this was their first Passover meal. It was a first for us, as well. I think we should have it every year, as a remembrance. Tradition can be a very good thing.

"When the hour came, Jesus and his disciples reclined at the table. And he said to them 'I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover meal with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfullment in the kingdom of God.' After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said 'Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.' And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me." Luke 22:14,19

thank you Ginny, I have never understood the passover meal, this makes it so real for me. I think we need to incorprate some of the Jewish traditions into our churches. they symbols remind us of who and where we came from. great post and photos

Hi Ginny, As I told you previously, I have been involved in Seder meals before. One time I took our Confirmation Class to a synagogue --so that they could learn more about the Jewish traditions. It was so interesting and the kids (6th graders) enjoyed it and learned so much.

Glad your church participated in this. You must have a very creative minister.. SO special!!!

We just started watching one of my all-time favorite movies (besides Ben-Hur) The 10 Commandments. It surely explains the Seder and why each part of it is celebrated in the Passover. Oh...if I get to heaven and Moses doesn't look just like Charleton Heston I will cry ;-) Have a blessed Easter!